FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GLOG

At the start of the year 2020, I wrote: "Perhaps this year is the most anticipated period in the lives of ophthalmologists". Our expectations at that time were sky-high. My dream was to see this year a stimulus for growth. Halfway down 2020, this period seems to have turned into an uncomfortable nightmare. Whatever optimism we had at the start of the year has lost steam. Now, it's a struggle to survive physically, economically, socially and emotionally. That's all thanks to a tiny Coronavirus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of humanity in general and patients/health care workers in particular. The world's population has come face-to-face with the biggest calamity in recent history. Lives have been lost from the disease itself and incidents surrounding the pandemic. This has been the worst calamity to affect our social fabric.

For the first time we posted something apart from glaucoma on The Glog. Some of the posts have focused on COVID. And, one article was shared on the touchOPHTHALMOLOGY website in its Insight section.

The Glog tried its best during the last one year to present glaucoma-related topics in simple, easily understandable posts. The most memorable part was to have The Flammer Series. In those 4 articles, we have attempted to show a small glimpse of the profound genius of Prof Josef Flammer. In my opinion Prof Flammer has done such immense work on glaucoma that he deserves to be put on the pedestal of all-time greats of glaucoma. A humble and gentle being he has not advertised himself, unlike many other loud-mouthed individuals who appear to present themselves as the greatest thinkers since Socrates and Plato. No words are enough to acknowledge the contribution of Prof Flammer to glaucoma research.

Last year we had also focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in glaucoma. And, just last week I received a survey from the Asia Pacific Ocular Imaging Society to look into AI practices. So, surely AI is picking up as predicted.

Another leap forward for The Glog was the large number of articles from students. They are the future of our society and I hope these young men and women will carry the responsibility to attain greater heights in healthcare.

I cannot thank enough the visitors to the site. For me, there’s no other stimulus to work than the knowledge that my efforts are going to a wider audience. At the time of posting this article, there have been 45,282 page views to The Glog. My humble appreciation for patronizing The Glog over all these years. Our free-to-access blog is an amateurish attempt to bring glaucoma-related knowledge to a wide audience.

The Glog continues to explore new ways to present Ophthalmology. We are working on some innovative ideas to improve our presentation. Do keep checking here for the updates.

Your suggestions to improve The Glog are most welcome.

I wish each and everyone a safe, healthy and happy future.

Take care

Shoeb